Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Nor do I own Google. If I did, I'd be filthy rich. I do own a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie poster, a huge tie dye sheet, and more Hilary Duff movies than I care to admit.

A/N: What's this? Another update. What can I say? There's not much else to do when you're stuck in your home thanks to a blizzard. As always, thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. And of course a big thanks to Chylex28 for putting up with me, my errors, and my overall craziness.


In the crazy world
Anything can happen
If you will it to
I'm just a hazy girl
Blurring all the edges
Only seeing blue

It's a Wild Hope
A Wild Hope
A Wild Hope
Everything will be alright

~Wild Hope~ Mandy Moore


Surviving High School

I woke up feeling excited and jittery; almost like I'd had six cups of coffee. Today was going to be interesting, of that I had no doubt. I stumbled toward the bathroom, managing to bang my knee in the process and quickly dressed after showering. I eyed the stairs as I cautiously made my way down them. Last thing I needed was a repeat of yesterday afternoon. Sadly, I'm sure there will be a repeat of yesterday's Stair Olympics in my future. I grabbed a granola bar, took a swig of milk out of the carton (gross, I know), got my bag and made my way out to Chuck. The voice of Bob Dylan greeted me from the radio as I turned Chuck on and headed out of the drive. The closer I got to school, the more nervous I started to feel. I was going to attempt to stand up to Victoria today should she hunt me down, which she most likely would. Especially once she finds out that I have no intention of talking to Mr. Banner and asking for a new lab partner. I was still on the fence about talking to Edward in regards to Victoria and her attitude towards me. After all, she is his girlfriend and no guy wants to hear someone talking shit about their girl. Even if the shit is true. Letting out a sigh, I pulled into the school parking lot and found a spot near Ben's Civic where he and Angela were waiting.

I waved to them as I climbed out of the truck and walked over to them. "Oh Bella, what happened to your head?" Angela asked me as I got closer to them.

I touched the bandage on my head and replied, "Stair Olympics."

Ben grinned at me. "So what scores did the judges give you?"

"Six. I didn't stick the landing," I laughed. "So guess who sent me a friend request?"

Angela grinned at me. "Let me guess. He's about six foot two, plays football, and has gorgeous hair." I nodded.

"I have gorgeous hair," I heard Ben mumble. I reached over and ruffled his hair. "Of course you do Ben."

"So yes, Edward and I are now friends, well on Facebook anyways. He and I chatted a bit last night and I realized that you were right Angie. Edward is his own person and I'm not going to ask Mr. Banner for a new partner. Although I'm still not sure if I should talk to Edward about Bitchtoria."

Angela smiled at me as we walked into the building. "I'm glad you've decided not to let her run you off. It's up to you if you want to talk to Edward about her, but I think you should. But that's just my opinion."

Leaning over, I hugged her and told her how much I appreciated her opinions. I stopped by my locker and quickly gathered up the crap I would need for my first few classes and then followed Ben and Angela to homeroom. Once homeroom was over, we headed to English where we gathered into groups of four to discuss our ideas. I got put in a group with Mike, Angela, and Tanya. I wasn't exactly thrilled. Tanya was one of Victoria's sheep and she sat there with her fake hair and fake tan, arms crossed, glaring at me.

"So ladies, let's begin shall we?" Mike said. "I'll go first. I'm gonna write about this epically awesome tale of gore and horror involving vampires. Only my vampires aren't going to be like normal vampires. These vamps don't ever sleep, some of them have super powers, garlic doesn't bother them and they're glittery."

I couldn't help but snort at that. "Glittery?"

Mike quickly defended himself. "Yeah glittery. Instead of burning up in the sun, they'll sparkle."

I could just picture it now. Vampires in the sun blinding you with their sparkliness. I was doing my best not to laugh too much. "So...they're gay vampires?"

Mike sputtered. "What? No of course they're not gay!"

Angela jumped into the conversation. "But they sparkle!" And at that, Angela and I just cracked up. I felt a bit bad because Mike was really keen on his idea, but honestly, sparkly vampires? That was a bit much if you ask me. I didn't mean to laugh at his ideas, but I couldn't help it.

"Well let's hear what you've got then?" Mike huffed at me. Aw crap. I really shouldn't have laughed at him cause my ideas were really no better. I opened my notebook and flipped to the page with my Googled ideas.

"Let's see. Um, I could write about a freshly cleaned floor from the floors point of view, I could write about a hobo who loves to hear himself sing or I could write about a super heroine who has the power to control gravity."

Tanya, who had been filing her nails, stopped and looked up at me. "God, those are like, really lame."

Angela rolled her eyes and mouthed "whatever" beside Tanya. I didn't really try to defend myself to much. "Hey, I randomly picked these ideas from Google so I could get the assignment done. It's not like I actually have to commit to any of these anyways."

I looked over at Tanya. "What ideas did you come up with?"

Tanya didn't even bother to answer my question. She just went back to filing her nails and ignoring us. I shrugged. No big loss. I bet she didn't have any ideas at all. How could she? That would require having a brain and Lord knows she didn't have one. So I looked at Angela.

Angela whipped open her notebook and flipped to a page filled with notes. "I'm going to write about a Native American tribe that has the power to turn into wolves. I know it sounds all kinds of ridiculous, but I was watching some movie about werewolves the other night and this idea came to me..." and she was off and running. Overall, I was pretty impressed with her idea. It was original that was for sure. Mike seemed less than enthused about it, but I think he was still upset that we laughed at his sparkly vampires. I giggled again just thinking about it.

The morning flew by and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. We had started our volleyball session of gym. Of course the other team knew that I was the weakest link, so they repeatedly targeted me. I felt like I spent the class period playing dodge ball instead of volleyball, but what can you do? I, amazingly, walked away without causing any damage to myself or others. I got into the lunch line behind Alice and tried to decide what looked eatable.

"Hey Bella," Alice chirped.

I couldn't help but smile down at her. She was always so friendly. "Hey Alice."

She gasped at the bandage on my head. "Oh no, Bella! Is that from the other day in Biology?"

I'd forgotten that she had seen that whole disaster. I shook my head and explained to her that I'd fallen down the stairs at home.

"You need to be more careful," she admonished me. I agreed with her.

I paid for my food and went to the table for misfit toys. Jessica and Lauren were gossiping about something and Angela and Ben were talking quietly to one another while the guys were busy discussing the upcoming football game. Angela and Ben both had a slight blush going on and I wondered if she'd asked him to the dance yet.

"So Bella," Jessica began, "Lauren, Angela and I are going into Port Angeles to buy dresses for the dance. Do you want to come with us?"

"Oh...well I'm not going to the dance, but I guess I could help you all pick out dresses."

"Like I need your help picking out a dress," I heard Lauren say under her breath. I ignored her and continued talking to Jessica.

"When are you all going?"

"We're gonna go this Saturday. I have my mom's car for the day, so I figured we could go dress and shoe shopping and then get some dinner. There's this great Italian restaurant that we could eat at."

"Sounds like fun. Do you want me to meet you at your house?"

Jessica smiled and told me she'd pick us all up. Despite the fact that I hate shopping, I was almost looking forward to an all-girl outing. It had been a while since I'd just hung out with the girls. Sure, I wasn't exactly looking forward to hanging out with Lauren, but Jessica was alright and I loved Angela. I spent the rest of lunch talking with Angela and Ben, and trying to calm my nerves about seeing Edward and still having an internal debate about whether to bring up Victoria or not. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and I gathered up my trash, threw it away and headed towards Biology with Angela. As we got to the door of the classroom, Angela squeezed my arm to show her support. I took a deep breath and walked into class towards my table. Edward wasn't there yet so that gave me a few minutes to get myself situated and try and stop my hands from trembling.

"Hey Bella," came the musical voice that I loved. I looked up and couldn't help but smile at the gorgeous man standing next to me.

"Hi Edward."

He sat down and grabbed what he needed out of his bag and then turned to face me. I knew the minute he noticed the bandage on my forehead because his eyes widened.

"So this is from the accident with the stairs, huh?"

I nodded. "After school yesterday I thought I would practice for the Stair Olympics, but I managed to fall and smack my head pretty hard."

"Bella, I thought we agreed that you'd be more careful," he said.

"I remember telling you that I could make no promises."

He shook his head, sighed and flashed me that beautiful smile. "Stair Olympics huh?"

"Yep."

"You really need to work on sticking your landings." I let out a giggle at that and explained that I had told Ben the same thing.

I had just worked up the nerve to tell him about Victoria when Mr. Banner started class. We had a few more weeks left of this stupid lab and then we would move onto dissections and he told us that we would be keeping the same partners for the rest of the year. I couldn't help but smile at that and when I looked over, I noticed that Edward had a smile on his face too.

He leaned over towards me and I caught a whiff of his aftershave. Mmm...delicious. "Guess you're stuck with me Swan. Hope that's not a problem."

"Nope. No problem. You?"

"Well..." he started and my heart just about stopped, "You're awfully clumsy, but I think I can handle working with you," he smirked. I couldn't help the smile that overcame my face, or the blush for that matter.

Mr. Banner handed out our assignments for today's lab and we got to work identifying something or another. I didn't even pretend to pay attention. I was so wrapped up in the fact that I got Edward Cullen for the rest of the year and that he wanted to be my partner that I failed to notice Bree and Tanya staring at us.

"So are you coming to the game on Friday, Bella?"

"Um...probably not. I'm not a big fan of football," I mumbled.

"So what. You should come anyways and bring your friends. Get out of the house and have a good time," he said.

"I'll think about it," I hedged. I'd never gone to a game ever so wouldn't it be weird, even suspicious, if I suddenly started going to games after Edward and I became lab partners? People would think that I had a crush on him and was following him around like a puppy. Granted, I have a crush on him, but I don't want the world to find out.

We finished our lab rather quickly, mainly because Edward did most of the work. I think he knew that I was a lost cause when it came to biology type stuff. We made small talk while we worked and before I knew it, class was coming to an end.

"See you tomorrow Bella. Think about coming to the game, okay?" he said as he was leaving.

"I will," I told him as I finished putting my stuff away.

"You will what?" Angela asked me as she came over.

"Oh. Um...Edward wanted to know if I was going to the game tomorrow night and I told him probably not, but he said I should go," I rambled.

"Hmm...that's not a bad idea. We should go."

"What? We never go to games! Won't it look weird that we're suddenly going to games?" I worried.

"Relax Bella. It's not a big deal. It's just a game. Lots of people go. C'mon...it'll be fun. Please," and then she brought out the puppy dog eyes.

"But...Fine! We'll go," I conceded and threw my hands up.

"Yay!" she cheered, "So...did you talk to him about Victoria?"

"No. I was going to and then Mr. Banner started class and I just couldn't get up the nerve to bring it up," I sighed.

Angela smiled and told me that it was okay. Study hall was boring as usual, but at least I was able to get my Calculus homework done before next hour. I prayed that the walk to Calculus would be uneventful. I hadn't run into Victoria all day and I wanted to keep it that way. Luck was apparently on my side, because I didn't encounter her or any of her cronies on the way to class and finally school was over.

I met up with Angela and Ben and we walked out of school discussing our plans for tomorrow. I still couldn't believe that I, Miss Anti-Social, was going to go to a football game. Ben figured that the high school experience wouldn't be complete if we didn't attend at least one game. Personally, I think he just wants to see the cheerleaders in their little uniforms. We finalized our plans for the game and I climbed into Chuck. He came to life with a beastly roar and I patted the steering wheel fondly. Poor Chuck. Everyone makes fun of him, but while loud and unsightly, he is reliable. So far.

I was about to back out of my space when I noticed Edward's Volvo behind me. It made me giggle. Here he was, star quarterback, Mr. Popular and he drives a mom-mobile. From what I could see in the rear view mirror, Victoria had come over and was talking to Edward through his open window. Sadly, due to Chuck's noisiness I couldn't hear what was being said, but she looked pissed. She was making angry gestures and then she pointed in my direction. Well shit. I thought I had managed to escape her wrath today. I made sure that the doors were locked in case she came over my way and continued to watch the drama unfold. Edward was apparently through listening to whatever Bitchtoria had to say because he gunned the engine on his mom-mobile and angrily drove off. I couldn't help but smirk a bit at that. Seems he wasn't having any of her shit today. I could see her glaring in my direction and I backed out of my spot. If she didn't move then I guess she was gonna get run over cause I wasn't stopping.

The evening was quiet and thankfully, accident free. I made lasagna for dinner and went upstairs to do my homework. Once my homework was done, I logged onto Facebook and went about my game playing. I had left the chat on and noticed that Edward was online. I took a deep breath and took the initiative.

Bella Swan: hey edward

Nothing. No response at all. Well, that kinda sucked. I try to ignore the rejection I felt and decided maybe he was busy at the moment and went back to playing games. After I exhausted all my energy in Cityville, I brought up my cafe. I was on a streak. I'd played 110 days in a row and I'd be damned if I missed one day. I was so caught up in cooking that I almost didn't notice the chat pop up.

Edward Cullen: hey bella. wasnt ignoring you. was talking to alice about something

I did a little dance in my seat when he wrote me back. Yay!

Bella Swan: Oh thats cool.

Edward Cullen: so whats up

Oh crap. He thinks somethings up. What do I say? Think Bella, think.

Bella Swan: not much. how was the rest of your day?

Edward Cullen: eh. i couldve done without the argument with victoria in front of everyone

Here was my opening if I chose to take it. I could ask him about the argument and then bring up her dislike of me. But then again, it's really none of my business what they were arguing about. It's not like Edward and I were real friends or anything.

Bella Swan: yea i would imagine so

Edward Cullen: sometimes she's such a bitch. she tends to blow things out of proportion.

Do I say anything? Am I supposed to comment on that?

Bella Swan: yeah

I banged my head on the desk. Brilliant Swan. Brilliant.

Edward Cullen: sorry. im sure you dont want to hear about it

Bella Swan: you can talk about it if you want

Edward Cullen: she's just upset about something and I feel shes overreacting but she doesnt agree which is why she was yelling at me in the parking lot

I wondered if I was the "something" that they were arguing about, but I didn't want to ask.

Bella Swan: well hopefully you guys can work things out

Ugh. Really Bella? You hope they work things out? You're such a liar.

Edward Cullen: yea we probably will. we usually do

Bella Swan: Oh well thats good

Edward Cullen: yea. oh alice wants to know if she can add you as a friend

Bella Swan: sure

Edward Cullen: cool. well im gonna go finish up some homework. cya tomorrow

Bella Swan: night

I watched as Edward logged off the chat and sat there feeling like an idiot. I had the opportunity in my grasp to tell him about her, but did I? No. I wimped out. I'm such a loser. I logged off and shut the computer down and got ready for bed. As I lay there staring at the ceiling, I told myself that I would talk to him about Victoria tomorrow. Or not. After all, tomorrow was the first game of the football season and I wouldn't want to ruin his day by telling him his girlfriend is a complete bitch. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep with visions of Edward in his football uniform.